Birding Around Viaduct Flats

Viaduct Flats has always been visited by Victoria area birders, but after a beaver dammed Viaduct Creek in 1993, bird activity skyrocketed. Within a few months of the damming, six Swamp Sparrows had arrived to spend the winter, and families of Ruddy Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Cinnamon Teal and Wood Ducks have subsequently been raised on the site.  As many as sixteen species of waterfowl have been spotted on a single day, and more than 1000 individual birds have been seen at one time.

The Glendale Lands that surround Viaduct Flats have open and dense woodlands, forest edges, bare fields and meadows. Now that open water and marshland have been added to these habitat types, there is rewarding birding year-round.

There has been major habitat restoration and a trail system that provides access to views while keeping people away from sensitive habitats such as the water’s edge and the thin soil in the Garry oak glades.

Construction of a viewing station was completed in September 2006.

This project, was done in conjunction with the Victoria Natural History Society, has increased visibility and provides a platform for school groups and other interested parties while protecting this sensitive native habitat. In addition to being a rewarding activity, birding observations can provide useful information about habitat change.

We are fortunate in having a good baseline study — conducted the year after the beaver dammed the creek.

A follow-up study has now been designed that will make it possible to track bird population changes as the restored habitat matures. This study requires help from amateur birders.